The future

[Peter Brydon]

Sonofa,
You couldnt scan a copy of one of Tobins lists and post here it could you ? I think it would be of great interest

Couple of other dealers names come to mind from the dim and distant past
Roger Venner ( Badgers Den ?) Reg Harvey,Laurie Archer, also another dealer from St Leonards on Sea whose name I cannot remember.

Going back to the 1950`s

In the MHS Bulletin of No1 August 1950 it says " 2 members spent an afternoon making a catalogue of the surplus stock of signs and badges.........there are too many variations to list fully.... prices range from 6d each for formation signs,slightly less for shoulder titles and more for metal badges"
Among the Formation signs listed are:
AA Divs 1,2,3,5,6,11
Armoured Divs 6,7,9,79 etc etc

Amongst the metal badges:
Officers bronze: 3KOH, Loyals,R.Warwick, Kings
Officers: Recce silver,gilt spear also gilt ,silver lightning

P.B.

[jeep]

Gentlemen, all is not lost. Take a look at our new member 'RifleBrigade,' a 19 year old from the Netherlands. A few words of encouragement perhaps?

[TRT]

I am not so optimistic. Despite best efforts of Dads etc most collectors seem to be 30 plus and as a 41 year old I consider myself a young un!!! With the credit crunch there just is not the money and also with so many pit falls it is not suprising that the young uns stay away. Also we all grew up either as veterens or like me so near the last world war and fed a diet of John Wayne and war comics it was inevitable we would be interested.

I do howeve rlive in hope.

PS this badge world is frustrating!!!

Regards

TRT

[Pylon1357]

I have been reading this topic with mixed emotions. I understand and agree most of what has been said here. Myself, I'm 43. I started collecting at a very young age as did many here. I was givien a few badges and other odds and ends by family members. My father gave me all his old RCAF insignia when it became obsolite. Thats how I was bit by the collecting bug. I was always intersted in the Second World War, an uncle who I was named after was killed during the war.

I'm not sure how many other board members have collections that run much deeper than badges. Myself, I collect Badges and metal insignia primarily now, however I have quite a few uniforms, medals, and everything in a soldiers kit. 3-4 sets of web gear that I have parted with anything not deemed a must.

So when looking outside the badge collecting world. We don't have it quite so bad IMO.
I do fear however, that when I pass on, my collection will be disposed of in a most undesirable manner. My family has no clue as to the value of my collection and no interest in learning about it. When I die, so does my collection. I suspect the badges and medals will end up in a pawn shop. The tunics and other cloth likely given to a Goodwill thrift shop.

[Gliners]

I'm in my early 40's and started collecting badges properly about 3-years ago. And for what its worth here is a summary of my journey so far....

Early on I purchased a handful of restrikes (mostly through ebay). They were obviously restrikes even to my novice eyes. I then focused on purchasing what I thought were not obvious restrikes. In other words badges that looked like they were 60 - 90 years old. I then felt I had a greater success rate if I first got my hands on a badge.

I then stumbled across an ebay guide on cap badges (written by a Forum member) that recommended the British Badge Forum. Upon joining the Forum things started to open up for me. Informative threads and replies from members to my questions provided me with invaluable guidance and knowledge. I also then purchased some of the key reference books recommended by the Forum, which helped me ID and date my badges. I was then able to weed out most of the "old looking" restrikes that were most likley manufactured in the 1970's.

I also purchased some badges from a Forum Veteran. This was also a key moment for me as I then got a really good feel for for what a genuine badge looks and feels like.

The good news is that armed with all the knowledge gained from the Forum I am now left with some really good badges and a spring board for making some more informed purchases in the near future. My wife and young family (3 boys and a girl) are also starting to take an unhealthy interest in cap badge collecting.

I think with the British Badge Forum at the helm, the future of cap badge collecting is in good hands!

Cheers,

David.

[dubaiguy]

Pylon1357
I have cut and pasted the following from a well known badge auction site beginning with the letter B. Hope I'm not infringing any laws or doing something against the forum rules. If you are seriously worried let your missus know. Might not help with the 'kit' (though I think they are associted with a general military auctioneer beginning with M) but certainly you would know that your badges would be disposed of properly.

To many collectors what will happen to their collection after their death can be an overwhelming worry. Often surviving relatives have no concept of the true value of a collection, what to do with it or where to dispose of it. Collections or individual items can be sold off at a fraction of their true value thus cheating dependents of funds that you have amassed over the years in the pursuit of your hobby. XXXX are pleased to offer advice and can offer a service which puts your mind at rest and ensures that your collection realises the full value for your spouse or children.

If anyone knows a young lad wanting to get into badge collecting and not too worried if the badges are genuine or not, I have a tin full of restrikes/fakes that he can have for the price of a stamp.

Cheers
mark

[turntostone]

Biggest problem I can see is the number of fakes, restrikes call them what you will.
How is a beginner to know whats real, when the majority of what he gets to see and study are questionable.

Thats why I stick to anodised but there are doubts creeping into that field too, now
that the older types are getting rarer.

[Terra Nova]

Some great ideas here and, with such incredible combined brainpower, I think that we can do a lot to bring along the next generation of collectors. I, for one, wasted my teen years becoming a collector thanks to my father, when I could have developed an amazing drug habit like many of my classmates. He brought home and gave me a handful of pre-1968 badges, buttons, titles, etc that were being sent out for scrap/disposal when he worked at a CF Supply Depot. Nothing very jazzy by today's standards, but certainly enough to pique my curiosity and get me interested -38 years ago and holding. I don't know first hand, but I think that that's kind of how drug peddlars ply their business - with a few free samples. And let's not kid ourselves, we are hooked on this collecting. Oops, time to run to my Support Group : "Hi, my name is Tim, and I'm a Badge Collector!" Seriously, we all have a bit of very common surplus stuff lying around that we'll never flog, no matter how hard we try. Let's pass some of it on to the kids and I hope to see on collector/dealer tables a little bin with badges "Free to our new collectors."